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at
 

at a point
 
We use at to refer to a point near something.

 Can you see that car at the traffic light? (=The car is at a point near the traffic
light)
 Who is that man at the door. (=The man is at a point near the door)
 

at the top of/at the bottom of/at the end of

 
We use at in the expressions at the top of, at the bottom of  and at the end of.

 She is at the top of the stairs. 

 Please, sign at the bottom of the page.
 The new café is at the end of the street. 

Group activities
 
We use at to refer to group activities like parties, concerts, and other events.

 We were at the cinema. 
 I didn’t see you at Jackie’s party. 
 We met at a concert. 

at + school/university/college
 
We normally use at with school, university and college.

 He is at school every morning until 12. 

 I’m studying at Oxford University.

be at home/work
 
We say be at home/at work (without the)

 She’s at home. (NOT at the home)

 I’ll be at work all morning. (NOT at the work)

at the shop
 
We use at to refer to shops, restaurants, cafés, etc.
  I’m at the bakery. 
 If you are at the chemist’s, can you buy some aspirins?

in
 

in a 3D space
 
We use in to refer to a position inside of a three dimensional space.

 The book is in the bag. 

 She is waiting in the classroom. 

in a space with limits

 
We also use in for areas that have limits or boundaries, like continents, countries,
cities, regions, etc.

 We are in France. 
 I love the houses in the Alps.

in a car
 
We use in for cars and vans.

 They are in the car.

in the water
 
We also use in when something is in the water: in the sea, in the river, in the
swimming pool, etc.

 The kids have fun in the swimming pool. 

 
in a picture, in a book
 
We also use in for things that are printed in books, pictures, documents, etc.

 Who’s that woman in the picture?

 Does it say anything about the concert in the newspaper?

on
 

on a surface
 
We use on to refer to a position on a surface.

 The book is on the table. 

on the first/second/etc. floor

 
We use on to refer to floors in a building.

 The office is on the third floor. 

on the right/left
 
We use on in the expressions on the right and on the left.

 The office is on the third floor on the left. 

on the bus/train/plane
 
We use on when we are using public transport: on the bus, on a train, on a plane,
etc.

 She’s on the bus right now. 

 

on TV/the radio/the Internet/a website

 
We use on when we read, see or learn something on the media.

 I saw it on TV last night

Prepositions of time: at, in, on
 

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Use at with times of day, including mealtimes, bedtime, etc.

 
at 3
o’clock, at 10.30am, at noon, at dinnertime, at bedtime, at sunrise, at sunset, at t
he moment
 

Use in with months, seasons, years, decades, centuries and long

periods of time in general
 
in May, in the summer, in 1990, in the 1990s, in the 20th century, in the Ice
Age, in the past/future
 

Use on followed by days and dates

 
on Sunday, on Tuesday mornings, on 6 March, on 25 December
2010, on Christmas Day, on Independence Day, on my birthday, on New Year’s
Eve
 

Also, use at in the following common expressions

 

 at the weekend: I don’t usually work at the weekend.

 at Christmas/Easter: I stay with my family at Christmas.
 at the same time: We finished the test at the same time.
 at present/at the moment: He’s not home at present. Try later.

Parts of the day

 

 in the morning
 in the afternoon
 in the evening
 at night

last, next , every and this
 
When we say last, next, every, this we do not use at, in, on.

 I went to London last June. (NOT in last June)

 He’s coming back next Tuesday. (NOT on next Tuesday)
 I go home every Easter. (NOT at every Easter)
 We’ll call you this evening. (NOT in this evening)
Prepositions of movement
 
We use prepositions after verbs to describe the direction of movement. It’s common
to use these prepositions after verbs that describe movement (walk, run, come, go,
drive, cycle, fly, etc.), although it is also possible to use them after other types of
verbs (We talked over the fence, I looked into the room, etc.) or after nouns (the path
to the beach, the road from Leeds, the way up the hill, etc.)
 

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get on/off the bus or train, get into/out of the

car
 
We say get in and get out of for a car, taxi, or van, but we say get on or get off for
motorbikes and bicycles and for public means of transport, such as a bus, a train or a
plane.
  I have to get off the bus at the next stop. 
 He stopped and got out of the car.

go to work by car= drive to work

 
When we want to talk about how we go from place A to place B, we can do it in two
different ways.

1. Using by + means of transport (car, taxi, plane, bike, etc.) or using on + foot.

 I go to school on foot. 
 I go to work by car.
 I went to Zurich by plane. 
 I went to the airport by taxi. 

2. Using a verb of movement (walk, drive, fly, cycle, etc.) or for public transport,
using take + means of transport.

 I walk to school
 I drive to work. 
 I flew to Zurich. 
 I took a taxi/a bus/a train/etc. to the airport.